The entire working population has suffered from a slow jobs recovery, but no group has had a harder time than teenagers.

The unemployment rate for people 16 to 19 years old is 23.7%, compared to 7.2% for the population as a whole. In fact, when you take teens out of the equation, the jobless rate for people 20 years and older is just 6.8%. And while the overall unemployment rate is down 25% from its peak, the teen rate is down just 13%.

Part of the reason that the unemployment rate for teens is so high is structural. In the 1940s more than half of teenagers were in the labor force, and that number grew as women started working in greater numbers. It peaked in 1978 at just shy of 60%. Today only about a third of 16-to-19 year olds are working or looking for a job, a historically low level. Most people in that age range are enrolled in school and not looking for work.

But those who are looking for work face a daunting job market. Teenagers make up less than 4% of the labor force, but 12%, or about one in eight, of the 11 million unemployed is between 16 and 19 years old.

Education is a major factor. The unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher is just 3.8%, but almost necessarily teenagers haven’t finished college. Workers without a high school diploma, even those over 25 who have more on-the-job experience, face an unemployment rate almost three times higher than university graduates.

One subset of teen workers has it even worse: African Americans. The unemployment rate for black 16 to 19 year olds is a whopping 41.6%.

About Real Time Economics

Real Time Economics offers exclusive news, analysis and commentary on the U.S. and global economy, central bank policy and economics. Send news items, comments and questions to the editors and reporters below or email realtimeeconomics@wsj.com.